Heavenly Soul

After sneaking out to avoid anyone from the palace following them, they walked leisurely for a while before reaching a certain building.

"Isn't this a…brothel?" Wei Xiang observed with an eyebrow raised in question.

Qinghe nodded. "Yes, and this is where Lord Tai, the last person I need to recruit, is currently at."

Wei Xiang snickered.

"What?" Qinghe asked suspiciously.

Unheeding of the warning in his lover's tone, Wei Xiang joked, "Are you going to infiltrate this establishment by dressing up as one of the prost.i.tutes? I'm very curious to see just how you'd look in such a flamboyant getup."

Qinghe huffed. "What need is there to complicate things to that degree. I'll just sneak into his room through the window. You can just stay here. Being with you makes me feel too safe, so I might not pay attention to the details of my surroundings as much if you come along."

Wei Xiang couldn't help but feel his gaze soften. This must be the most adorably affectionate way anyone had ever snubbed him in till now.

"Alright, I'll stay outside and keep watch. If you need me, just call."

Qinghe nodded and set out to casually break into the building.

Staying outside as promised, Wei Xiang nonetheless kept his senses focused around his lover just in case of unexpected danger. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.

As he scoped the area, Wei Xiang felt a familiar presence lurking about in the building Qinghe was heading towards.

Wei Xiang frowned. Why was that dratted fellow here? What trouble was he getting up to now? Considering that it was a brothel, Wei Xiang could only hope that he wasn't indulging himself in an orgy or two while on duty. Even that imbecile wouldn't be so b.a.l.l.sy, would he?

But though the other person's very existence irked him, Wei Xiang decided to let it be for now. After all, no matter for what reason he was here, not even his unreliable senior brother would be foolish enough to mess with his beloved. But if he really was that idiotic, then Wei Xiang wouldn't hesitate to step in and give him a thorough thras.h.i.+ng, or better yet, he'd let his little lover beat him up.

So with narrowed eyes, Wei Xiang kept his attention cautiously focused around his beloved, hoping that his second brother had some sense of self-preservation left in that f.e.c.kless head of his.

On the other hand, Qinghe had successfully snuck into Lord Tai's room, slipping in silent and unseen through the window. But the moment he stepped inside, Qinghe sensed the vaguely familiar presence of someone in the shadows.

Well, if it was truly a Sentinel as he guessed, then there was probably nothing to be worried about.

Thinking this, Qinghe made himself comfortable on one of the chairs, patiently waiting for Lord Tai to return to this room that was usually reserved for him alone. By this, one could see just how regularly this Lord Tai frequented this establishment.

Around fifteen minutes later, a drunken Lord Tai pushed open the door and unsteadily entered the room.

With a wave of his hand, Qinghe swiftly sent out wind to close and lock the door, startling the befuddled old man into jerking upright while looking around frantically.

His gaze finally alighting on Qinghe's gracefully seated figure, Lord Tai gaped at the intruder with open astonishment. But his surprise quickly segued into distrust and terror as the lord thought panickily—From when had the emperor's a.s.sa.s.sins become this handsome and capable?!

And so, because of this misunderstanding perpetrated by his alcoholic stupor, Lord Tai did not even give Qinghe a chance to open his mouth before crying out shrilly, "He's here! The a.s.sa.s.sin is here! Sentinel, save meee!"

Hearing him shouting like this, Qinghe sighed at how easily everything had suddenly slipped out of control.

Before the last syllable left Lord Tai's lips, Qinghe had already stood up and sprung away from the chair he'd been sitting on. And sure enough, three arrows made of light quickly embedded themselves into the chair's backrest immediately.

Antic.i.p.ating a battle, Lord Tai promptly jumped behind the large bed in the corner and hid in self-preservation.

As he watched the hunter-green arrows made of spiritual force slowly dissipating, Qinghe narrowed his eyes. It was obvious that his opponent used the bow as his weapon of choice, and among the Sentinels, the only one who both used a bow and was familiar to Qinghe was the Grandmaster's second disciple, Kong Min.

As for why Qinghe was familiar with him, it was because Kong Min had been the other Sentinel beside Wei Xiang who had shadowed Qinghe and his group back in the hidden realm. So even though Qinghe hadn't met Kong Min face-to-face yet, he still recognized the other's presence.

In a calm voice, Qinghe called out, "Sentinel Kong, please come out. There's no need to hide yourself."

A faint chuckle sounded.

From a shadowed corner stepped out a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, a plain wooden bow clutched in one hand.

His skin was a light copper, a few shades darker than Wei Xiang's honey-tinted complexion. Most of his hair was gathered up in a bun, leaving the ends unbound so that the untamed hair reached down to cover the nape of his neck. A wide smile curled his thin lips, looking playful yet mocking. His light brown eyes held both curiosity and mild hostility, s.h.i.+ning brightly in the lamplit room.

"It is my greatest honor to finally be able to meet my third brother's lover," Kong Min spoke in his husky voice. "I must say, I'm very impressed that you could tell who I was even when I kept myself so meticulously hidden. It seems that my third brother's observation was right, you really must have noticed us shadowing you back in the hidden realm. How absolutely intriguing you are."

Despite his praising words, Qinghe felt that this man did not like him. It wasn't to the point of hate, but his unfriendliness was still fairly noticeable. Feeling uncertain of this Sentinel's att.i.tude, Qinghe decided to keep his guard up.

Uncaring of the younger man's cautious manner, Kong Min blithely continued, "Truthfully, I almost didn't recognize you in this appearance. After all, the last time I saw you, you were wearing a different face. But if this is your true face, then I can understand why you would want to hide it. Tell me, is that the face you used to bewitch my third brother?"

Qinghe sensed the hostility directed towards him increase. But after hearing those words, he could at least guess at the source of the other person's dislike.

It was obvious that Kong Min was being protective of Wei Xiang, feeling that Qinghe did not deserve to receive Wei Xiang's affection. But since this was after all the person his junior brother had chosen, Kong Min was currently a.s.sessing this little disciple in front of him to see if he could be deemed worthy.

And as someone who had done this very same thing when his friends had been pursued by their respective lovers, how could Qinghe not understand this? But now that he was on the receiving end of it, he couldn't help but feel conflicted.

Pacifying himself by thinking

With a cold smirk stretching his lips, Kong Min spoke, "A glib tongue isn't going to prove your worth to me, Little Disciple Feng."

Tilting his head, Qinghe asked, "Do you wish to test me then?"

"Yes." Kong Min grinned sinisterly and immediately aimed his bow at his junior brother's lover.

Strange green arrows made of solid spiritual force rained in his direction and Qinghe used nimble footwork to weave between them. His white robes flared behind him gracefully, his hair floating and seeming to leave a trail of s.h.i.+ning ebony in his wake. Yet, despite his ostensibly casual evasions, not even a single arrow so much as grazed him. And what Qinghe couldn't dodge, he easily deflected with his wind. To those watching, he looked like an intangible wraith, remaining untouched as he slipped like smoke between the glowing green arrows with minimal yet fluid motions.

Thankfully, the room was wide and s.p.a.cious enough that Qinghe could move about unconstrainedly without having to fear that he would be forced into a corner. But he nevertheless kept an eye on his surroundings as well, trying to minimize the damage to the room and its furnis.h.i.+ngs.

As his body kept s.h.i.+fting and dodging while he remained mindful, Qinghe sighed inwardly.

Well, this was going to be a bother.

He'd have to make sure not to be hit even while taking care not to hurt his beloved's senior brother. After all, from all that Wei Xiang had said about his second brother till now, his beloved seemed to care a great deal for him, though it wasn't at all obvious by the caustic way Wei Xiang spoke of him.

On the other hand, Kong Min greatly looked down on his junior brother's pretty-faced lover.

Though he had at first admired Feng Qinghe's decisive planning and clever strategizing when taking down the Behemoth, all that respect had immediately turned to disdain when he'd heard that this little disciple had somehow seduced and gotten together with his third brother.

Hmph, what was so great about this Feng Qinghe? After all, he had only relied on tricks to take down that Behemoth. Kong Min felt that he or Wei Xiang could have finished off that beast with their eyes closed and hands tied behind their backs!

And so, his initially favorable impression towards Qinghe was completely overturned. Such was the power of overprotective brotherly love.

Sneering, Kong Min remarked, "All you do is bounce around. Do you not even know how to fight back?!"

Qinghe felt really wronged. In a resigned tone, he replied even as he kept dodging the constant barrage of arrows with an unconcerned expression, "You are Wei Xiang's senior brother, so I do not wish hurt you. Can't we just be done with this already and simply talk this through?"

Because Qinghe was honestly just about fed up of dancing between those glowing green arrows! If he closed his eyes, he could still see those darned things flas.h.i.+ng like glowworms behind his eyelids. It was absolutely annoying!

After hearing his words, to Qinghe's great surprise, Kong Min really stopped releasing his arrows.

Qinghe had just halted his motions and let out a breath of relief when Kong Min directly rushed at him, his hand coated in green spiritual force.

Though he was caught off-guard at the suddenness of this attack, Qinghe quickly collected himself out of habit and evaded, but Kong Min showed no signs of stopping his offensive. Thus, Qinghe was once again forced to keep evading.

But Kong Min's speed was surprisingly far greater than that of his arrows. As a cultivator at ninth realm, he was a whole realm above Qinghe, who as still at the peak of eighth realm right now. As such, Qinghe had to significantly increase his speed to keep up with his opponent.

While his hands continuously chopped down in Qinghe's direction, Kong Min growled, "So you thought to go easy on me? Feng Qinghe, are you looking down on me?!"

Not giving his opponent any time to reply, Kong Min suddenly put on a burst of speed, his hand making directly for Qinghe's throat.

Qinghe had not really expected his beloved's senior brother to ruthlessly aim for such a vulnerable point with a killing blow, but what startled him even more was that at this rate, Kong Min would directly touch his skin.

His blood chilled at that sudden realization.

Trying to frantically avoid his touch, Qinghe panicked and reacted instinctively. A slender leg shot out in a motion too quick to catch, landing a powerful blow charged with spiritual power straight on Kong Min's unprotected abdomen.

Caught unprepared by the swift lethality behind the move, Kong Min was thrown back and impacted the wall with a resounding crash. Flakes of dust sprinkled down from the ceiling as the vibrations traveled through the building. Kong Min felt sticky liquid flowing up his throat and had no choice but to cough out a mouthful of dark blood to avoid choking on it.

Taking a few steps back, Qinghe forced himself to breathe deeply in an attempt to regain his equilibrium. But looking at Kong Min's injured state, Qinghe felt distress rise within him. Would his beloved blame him for hurting his second brother?

With a strangely bright s.h.i.+ne in his eyes, Kong Min let out a bout of hoa.r.s.e laughter. "So, touch is your trigger, huh?" he observed unkindly with shrewd astuteness.

Qinghe froze.

Not waiting for him to react, Kong Min had already leapt towards Qinghe, his hand reaching out threateningly. He finally realized that he shouldn't have underestimated this little disciple. But that was okay, he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Afraid that if he counterattacked, he would hurt his lover's senior brother again, Qinghe stood motionless. What should he do?! Should he dodge again? Or directly escape?

But just as Kong Min reached within five steps of Qinghe, he suddenly sensed danger and jumped back hastily. In the place where Kong Min had just escaped from, the ends of several thin gold strings could be seen to be embedded deeply into the floor. The strings seemed to extend from a certain shadow at the side, gleaming vibrantly in the lamplight. As the strings retracted, they only left behind indiscernible pinp.r.i.c.k-sized holes in the wooden floor.

From the darkness where the golden strings had disappeared into, a familiar figure emerged, admonis.h.i.+ng in a furious tone, "Kong Min, what the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l are you doing?"

Seeing that Wei Xiang had arrived, Qinghe let out a breath of relief. Honestly, he was so used to taking care of everything by himself that Qinghe had forgotten to call for Wei Xiang. Realizing how he'd had backup all along but had simply not remembered to ask for help, Qinghe drowned in self-reprobation.

On the other hand, hearing his junior brother's livid tone, Kong Min flinched in guilt before opening a telepathic conversation with him.

Wei Xiang's brows twitched.

A strange expression claimed Kong Min's face.

Narrowing his eyes, Wei Xiang warned,

Kong Min looked at his third brother with dissatisfaction written plainly on his face. He was used to being threatened with physical harm by now, he just wrote it off as his junior brother's way of showing love. But for his third brother to so fervently defend that pretty-faced disciple, this he could not bear!

At the side, Qinghe patiently waited for the pair of martial brothers to finish their silent conversation.

Suddenly, Qinghe saw Kong Min shooting a piercing glare at him before turning away with a huff.

In contrast, Wei Xiang approached Qinghe with a worried frown on his face. In a voice bleeding with concern, he asked, "Are you alright? Did that idiot hurt you in any way?"

Qinghe shook his head. "I'm fine, I'm not the one who sustai―"

Kong Min let out a loud 'hmph' of disdain, purposefully interrupting him.

Wei Xiang's mouth twitched, his teeth itching at his second brother's petulance. Then his expression smoothening, Wei Xiang spoke out loud in a seemingly amiable tone, "Second Brother, now this won't do. You can't keep bullying my lover just because he is cute."

Unable to take this injustice silently, Kong Min burst out incredulously, "Me? Bullying him? Remind me again, which one of us ended up with an injury?"

Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Wei Xiang easily returned back, "Second Brother, you're such a disgrace. You even took out your spiritual artifact, yet managed to land not even a single blow on your opponent though he was unarmed. For shame."

Feeling that he had to support his lover, Qinghe also dutifully shook his head and said with due solemnity, "Yes, for shame."

With a wronged expression, Kong Min asked disbelievingly, "…Are you both ganging up on me?"

As one, Qinghe and Wei Xiang showed similar mischievous smiles as they nodded, "Of course."

"…"

Kong Min wanted to spit out another mouthful of blood.

Now who was he supposed to bring to back him up against this couple?! This was patently unfair!

Still wearing the same friendly smile, Wei Xiang lifted his hand to reveal a set of his long and sharp black claws that had extended menacingly from his fingers at some unknown time, then spoke, "Now, my dear senior brother, are you going to tell me why you are here or do I have to start cutting out body parts? Honestly, I personally don't mind torturing you a little bit to vent my anger, so please, resist me by all means."

Kong Min gulped and took a step back with his hands raised, a placating expression on his face. Deciding to stop pus.h.i.+ng his junior brother, he quickly spilled everything. "I was just enjoying myself in this brothel when I met Lord Tai. He recognized me from somewhere and remembered that I was a Sentinel, so he requested me to protect him, saying he had a.s.sa.s.sins after him or something. Even if I was off-duty, I was still a member of the Order, so I agreed. That's why I'm here."

Wei Xiang nodded seriously, then asked, "Just how many times have you slept with your charge―this Lord Tai―till now?"

Shuffling his feet, Kong Min dutifully recalled, "Maybe four, or was it six times?"

From behind the bed came the strangely shy voice of the Lord Tai currently being discussed, "It was twelve times, Sentinel."

Kong Min winced.

Sighing, Wei Xiang retracted his claws and ma.s.saged his forehead. "This is why you are never a.s.signed to protection detail, you are too irresponsible. Your duties are that of an information gathering specialist, so do you want to explain to me why you are playing around as a bodyguard?"

"Honestly, no." Kong Min immediately shook his head. He really did not want to explain! After all, his junior brother would never buy any excuses he came up with anyway, so why waste all that brainpower?

Wei Xiang sighed again. "Since you have taken up this task, do not besmirch the Order's name and fulfill your duty properly."

Nodding with gusto, Kong Min heaved a breath in relief, rea.s.sured that his junior brother wouldn't make things too difficult for him. After all, the one holding the most power in the Order of Sentinels, after the Sentinel Grandmaster himself, was undoubtedly Wei Xiang.

"Ah, there's one more thing," Wei Xiang spoke as if suddenly realizing something. Turning to Qinghe, he said, "Love, while fighting him just now, why didn't you rough up this useless senior brother of mine even worse? His regenerative abilities are after all quite strong, so you wouldn't have ended up accidentally killing him anyway."

Listening to this, Kong Min felt like crying. Why was he always badmouthed to such a degree by this little brat? Weren't junior brothers supposed to be cute and obedient? Why did he get this domineering and foul-mouthed s.a.d.i.s.t of a commanding officer instead?

Kong Min decided that after he returned to headquarters later, he definitely had to go and complain to his master about this!